Snowplow structure



Sept. 20, 1949. J. R. RITCHIE SNOWPLOW STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 12, 1944 2 Inventor JOHN RRrrCHrL-I J.F1 RITCZHIE Sept. 20, 1949.

SNOWPLOW STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 12, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor- Sept.20, 1949. J. R. RITCHIE SNOWPLOW STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug.12, 1944 Inventor- Jon N R.

RITCHIE Sept. 20, 1949. J. R. RITCHIE SNOWPLOW STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheetv4 Filed Aug. 12, 1944 ISOa P 1949- J. R. RITCHIE 2,482,213

SNOWPLOW STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 12, 1944 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiarlO.

77b Inventor:-

JOHN RHHTQ JE 5 fitorfz Patented Sept. 20, 1949 OFFICE SNOWP-LOWSTRUCTURE J 9 2 1B,- Bito ie. ea ol s M n. Application August 1-2,1944,=Se1=ial No. 549,151

-.fiiA-H 13 Chins- 1 This invention, relates to a,- sni ow.. plowiof.the

general. rotary. type, constructed. and; arranged for. clearingsnowtram-highwaysandotnerplaces.

It; is an. object of; this invention tolprovide. an.

eflicient snowplowwhichlias means. at its forward end. and adjacent. theground forengagin snow. ndmoving-ittransxersely: of said-plow, saidmeansextendingthroughout the full width of said plowya chamberat. oneside of. said plowv and at oneend ofsaid; means to. which said snow isdelinered. together with; means. for. discharging the snow from saidchamber.-

It is another object. of: the invention to provide sucha plow as setforth. in the-preceding par. agraph in whichsaidameansis in'the form ofa rotary helical; conveyor, the hl-adeshof which are. quite thin or.substantiallysharplso that. they will. readily cut, into. and more thesnow.

.t: is an Obj ect of thee-invention to. provide such asnow plow ass-setforth in the preceding. paragraphs, the same also havingarotatingrakeahead of said means or conveyor, said-rake comprising arms.spaceda longitudinally thereof and preferably .arrangedimhelicalrelation.

It. is stilt. furtherzvam object. of: the invention to provideSQChra'SnQWLDIDW as. above set forth in which said. rotaryrakeiis;mounted on resilient arms together with-means, preterabl-y. power .acetuated; 013 swinging said. arms to. raise-and.- lower said; rake...

It is also an obiectofzthis. invention toprovide a snow plowlhav nglmsans,..such as a helical conveyor, extendingacross thefrontthereof'for move ing snow laterallyrachamher towhich said snow isdelivered, a chuteleadingfrom said: chamber, a rotor; in saidchambcr.for. dischargingsaid snow. and a motor,.- preferably' of. the internal.combus-v tion, type, mQQHtfiQLTQn said iplowa in. the .rear ofsaidconveyon and, -.at;Qn -E. side of saidchamber and, chute. togetherwith; means connecting said motor, rotor and ,comeyor:.fordriving. saidrotor. nd onye on It is stilianother. object of the inventionto provideasnow plow comprising a means extending across the front ofj the-plow,preferably in the. Qrm o he i on-Moron. for engaaingthe n w and mo n itor l'it. a hamber-to which said w' s ds rorsa. a rotori-n-said-chamherfor. i a i g snow-t refrom; a motor mounted a d li o-W nd; so. a Qnnetingsaid motor, o or ndoonvo onior rivin the. latter said s arininegveryoompaot y disposed. a d; a arss nor onitnsrso ebe ng disnossdwthin said rotor;

obisotzo the nvYenti n; s o. provide a rotor. fora snowphwhaving spacedcircumferentiallyarranged blades vwith means at one. side.thereoionneoting said blades, said blades. being; spacediromthe axis of saidrotor, and a... ;gear hoqsingdisposed in saidrotor between the inner:nds of said blade and containing shafts.

andgearin lfor, driying said rotor andother el emerits. of said plow...

Th se ndother objects and. advan ages of the inrentionwill ifully setforth in th fo l win description. made. in. connecti n. with he aompanyine: raw ng n which l e. ref en a asters. rotor -to. similarpartsthrou hout e several views and in which:

Fia. s a vio ni ront elevation o said snow plowoeflainnarts be ngind oaodin do ted nes F 2 is arr w the left handsndzo saidplow lookinorwardly;

t .al,.se on simi ar. o Fia. 3 ho ng therartsin d i orsnt posi o s;

Fig.4 iso nor ie 5 is. a .VlQW partlyn id lol t on and.

partly. in.verticalse tiontaksn n ofFi 1 as. ind oatedhy the a rows;

Fi sisaviowtakonon. li e 5+ o F 5 indicat d. by hea rows;

F 7 is aY t oaJ section. taken orFig. 1 as indioatedtbr the a ows;

Fi sis. a e t' aL-secti n ake on 1 ne.8.-8. f F n. s indicated. bythe arws;

Fig, 9 is ahorizontalsection takenon line 9-9 f F 8 as. indicated-by; earrow Fig. 10 isa substantially vertical section taken on ne ET B: ofFig. 5as indicated. by the arrows; and v Fig, 11; is a horizontalsection taken, substantial-1y or 1;.1; i ne I |;,..I-l; of Fig.8, asindicated by the arrows.

eferring tothetdrawin a ow. plow is shown v n la ally spa ed supportingshoes l5. hoes. I15 have. eonred. thereto and ext ndin on iudinallynereoi members ,or plates It. 56:- a

Angle-1!; has secured tothellppsr part of its rear.

end. elevat on, a een f om.

. 3 side spaced pairs of lugs (see Figs. 1, 8 and 9). Lugs 25 areapertured to receive pins 26 which will be held in place lengthwise byany suitable means such as cotter pins 21. Pins 26 extend through theapertured forward ends of bars 33 which constitute part of the pushingand lifting means of the plow. A plate 28 is provided having a lowersemicylindrical portion and a forwardly and upwardly projecting portionterminating in a curved portion extending upwardly and rear'wardly.Plate 28 has its lower front end 'secured to the top of the front sideof angle 2! and.

extends transversely of the plow, the same being secured at its otherend by welding to end plate 23. Said plate 28 is secured at the lefthand end of the plow to a plate is disposed in a vertical Plates 3i]disposed in vertical planes ex- 7 plane. tend around the outer side ofplate 28 (see Figs. 1, 8 and 9). Plates 3 3 are disposed adjacent theremote sides of the endmost lugs 25 as shown in Figs. 1 and 9 and arewelded to said lugs and to plate 28. Lugs 3i spaced transversely of theplow, are secured to the rear of plate 28, said lugs being arranged inpairs and aligned vertically with the lugs 25. The endmost ones of lugs3| are adjacent and secured to the plates 35. Lugs 3| are apertured toreceive pins 32 which extend through the apertured ends of bars 33aforming part of the pushing and lifting means of the plow and which maybe connected to bars 33. As shown in Fig. 9, plate 25 is in line withthe left hand end of angle 2i. Angle 22 extends beyond plate 29 toanother end plate 35 which is at the left hand end of the plow. V

Disposed within and coaxially with the semicylindrical portion of casing28 is a conveyor 48. While this might take various forms, in theembodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown as a helicalconveyor having a helical blade 46a secured to a central shaft 40b whichis illustrated as in the form of a tube. The semi-cylindrical portion ofplate 28 thus forms a casing for and cooperates with conveyor40.Conveyor 4!} engages the snow and moves the same laterally. It will benoted that conveyor 40 extends throughout the entire width of the plow.The helical blade 48a is made of a comparatively thin plate so that itis rather sharp and cuts into the snow very efficiently. At the lefthand end of the plow which is at the right hand side of Fig. 1, the.tube or shaft 49b is secured in any suitable manner as by welding to thehub 4la of a flanged driving member 4|. Member 4! is bored to receiveone end of a shaft 42. The flange of member fill, which is cylindricalin form, is provided with an aperture adjacent its edge in which isdisposed a bushing or thimble 43. A headed and nutted bolt 4d passesthrough member 43 and through a flanged bushing or thimble 45 secured inan aperture in the flange 46a of a driving member 46 secured in anysuitable manner to shaft d2. Shaft 42 has a reduced end portion to whichis secured by the key 41 and a screw 48 a spur gear 59. A bearing 42a.is disposed in a cylindrical bore of a gear casing and shaft 42 isjournaled in said bearing. Gear 55 meshes with a spur pinion 53 which issecured to a shaft 54 journaled in spaced bearings 55 which areillustrated as roller bearings. Bearings 55 are carried in a tubularportion or sleeve 56h of a gear casing 56. Gear casing 56 has a plate56a at its left hand side as shown in Fig. 10, and gear casing 5| abovereferred to has a flange at its top secured to plate 55a by the headedscrews 58. Casing 5| at its lower side has a thickened portion or hubthreaded to receive a headed screw 59 passing through plate 56d and thussecuring casing 5| thereto. Shaft 5 has secured to its end oppositepinion 53 a spur gear 51?! shown as secured to shaft 54 by the key 5!. Awasher 62 engages the end of spur gear 60 and is held in place by a'headed screw 63 threaded into the end of shaft 54. Gear 60 meshes with agear 65 having a hub 65a in which are disposed bearings 66, illustratedas ball bearings, and which are arranged to receive a shaft 68 so thatgear 55 is journaled on bearings 66 to rotate about shaft 68. Gear 65 isconnected to a plate l8 by spaced headed screws H and also by a dowelpin 12 extending into a bore in hub 65a. Plate it has a boss adjacentits edge bored to receive a bushing 13 through which extends a frangibleshear pin 74 held in plate 10 in bushing l3 by a set screw 15. Pin 14extends into a small bushing or thimble 75 disposed in the bore of aboss formed on a circular plate 11a. Plate 'l'la forms one side of arotor or impeller 11 which comprises a plurality of. circumferentiallyspaced blades 11b. Blades'llb have flanges 110 secured to plate 'l'la inany suitable manner as by the headed bolts or rivets I8 and also havereinforcing ribs l'ld' extending thereacross parallel to shaft 58, saidribs extending from flange 11c and disposed adjacent the inner and outeredges'of blades 11?). Blades Til) have forwardly projecting curvedportions "We as shown in Fig. 1. It will be seen that plate it is drivenby gear 65 and that rotor H is driven through the pin 14 by plate 70.

Gear 65 meshes with a gear 19 secured to a shaft by the key 8| and screw82. Shaft Si) is journaled in spaced bearings 83 shown as of the rollertype and carried in a sleeve or tube 84 secured in plate 55a in anysuitable manner as by welding. Tube 84 is also secured to a channelmember 55e in any suitable manner as by welding, which channel memberextends vertically diametrically of shaft 68 and is connected at itsends to the cylindrical wall 56b in any suitable manner as by welding.Cylindrical wall 5% is secured at its left hand end as shown in Fig.10', to the plate 56min any suitable manneras welding and at its righthand end is secured to a circular plate 560. While plate 560 could besecured in various ways, in the embodiment of the invention illustratedcylinder or gear casing wall 561) is provided with an inturned radialflange tapped to receive circumferentially spaced headed screws 81extending through plate 550 and connecting the same to the cylindricalwall 56b. Plate 560 is provided with an axial opening about whichextends an outwardly projecting cylindrical flange 56d and a sealingwasher 88 is disposed within flange 56d and engages the inner wallthereof and also the periphery of the outer part of the hub 65a. Shaft68 is also disposed and secured in a hub or sleeve 56) secured at oneend to plate 56a in any suitable manner as by welding and also passingthrough and being secured in a bore in the web of channel 55c in anysuitable manner as by welding. It will be seen that casing 56 forms agear housing which encloses gears 60, 65 and 19 and also has sleeves ortubes for shafts 54, 68 and 80; It will also be noted that gear casing56 is disposed within the rotor 11 and between the innerends of blades'il'b thereof. Said shafts and gears are also disposed within the rotor11 and a very efiicient and compact structure is thus provided.

A gear 90' is securedto the other end of shaft 8s by means of key 9| andscrew 92. Gear 911 meshes with a pinion 93 secured to a shaft 94 bymeans welding. Secured to each of the members I43 and projectingoutwardly therefrom is an arm I44. Arms I44 are of angular form intransverse crosssection, the flanges thereof meeting at an obtuse angleas shown in Fig. 1. Arms I44 are secured to members I43 bythe headedrivets I45. The outer ends of arms I44 as shown in Figs. 2 and 5,project forwardly to form substantially pointed: teethhaving curvedupper surfaces. An arm I41 projects upwardly from and is secured toshaft I23 in any suitable manner as by welding (see Fig. 6), said armbeing apertured to receive a connecting pin I43 held in place in anysuitable manner as by cotter pins I49. Arm I41 is of channel form andreceives between the sides thereofa head" II3a of a connecting rod I50through which pin I48 also passes. Connecting rod I58 will be connectedto the piston in a hydraulic cylinder I5I, pivoted on a lug I5Ia securedto plate 28, which piston (not shown) will be operated by suitablecontrols so that arm I41 can be swung to raise and lower the springsI33, and thus shaft I4I carried thereby. Shaft I4! and the members I43:and arms I44 form a rotating rake or breaker adapted to engage the snowand direct it downwardly and toward conveyor .40. The arms I45 areprogressively disposed in spaced relation circumferentially so as to besubstantially in helical arrangement (see Fig. l).

As above described, shaft 48b is driven. Secured to the end plate 23 atthe right hand side of the machine and at the left hand side of Figs. 1and 9, is a bearing member I52 which will be secured to said plate 23 bythe headed screws I53. A bushing I54 is disposed in a central bore ofmember I52 in which is journaled a stub or counter shaft I55. Shaft I55has secured thereto in any suitable manner as by key I55 a sprocket I51.Sprocket I51 has a hub which has a portion projecting into and securedto the end of shaft 481) in any suitable manner as by welding. A chainI59 runs over sprocket I51 and over a double sprocket I69 rotatable onthe outer end of shaft I23. Another chain I8I runs over sprocket I60 andalso runs over sprocket I63 secured to a stub shaft I84 extending intoand se cured to shaft I4'I in any suitable manner as by welding. Fromthe above description it will be seen that the rotating rake comprisingarms I44 is thus driven from the conveyor shaft 40b.

The portion 94a of shaft 94 projecting from the gear housing 91 isreceived in the splined head I66a of a shaft I66 which at its other endis provided with another splined head I661) embracing the splined end ofthe crank shaft I61 of a motor I58. Shaft I85 can move a short distancelongitudinally relatively to shafts 9-4 and IE1. Motor I68 is preferablyof the internal combustion type and is conveniently and efficientlysupported'on the frame of the plow in the rear of and above conveyor 40and at one side of the chamber in which rotor 11 is disposed. Motor I68has a support formed by a plate I adjacent the right hand end of themotor, which plate is supported upon a plate I1I extending upwardly fromangles 2| and 22 and secured at one side to plate 28 in any suitablemanner as by welding. Plate I1I has a flange Illa extending at an anglethereto. Motor I88 will be secured to plate I10 by suitable nutted boltsI12. Motor I68 has a forward support adjacent the center of the plowformed by a plate I13 secured to a plate I14 extending substantiall atright angles to and secured to plate 28 as by welding. Bolts I15 securemotor I68 to support'I13. A rear support for motor I68 is provided andis also located substantially centrally longitudinally of the plow andcomprises a plate I11 secured. to and projecting laterally from an anglemember I18 which extends upwardly and rearwardly from angle 22. MotorI68 is secured to plate I11 by the headed bolts ma. The plate 23 at theright hand end' of the plow extends upwardlysubstantially to shaft I23as shown in Fig. 8. The .rear .end of rear upper end of plate 28 to therear side of angle member 22. I V

In operation, the plow will be'supported upon the shoes I5 and will bepropelled forwardly by some vehicle such as an automotive truck havingmeans connected to the members 21 and 33. Motor I68 will be operated andthis will, through gears 93, 90, 19 and 85, rotate the impeller or rotor11. The conveyor 40 will be rotated through gears 60, 53 and andsaidimpeller will engage the snow as the plow moves for wardly. The snowwill move between the blades of conveyor 49 and plate or moldboard 28and will be moved laterally into the chamber in which impeller or rotor11 is disposed. Rotor 11 is rotated as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5and the snow will be engaged by the blades 11?) and moved rearwardlybelow the axis of said impeller and around casing wall 56b and thenceupwardlyintochute 38. The snow will be discharged at one side or theother of said chute, either inwardly or outwardly depending on theposition of member I I2. When member I I2 is disposed as shown in Fig.3, the snow will be thrown outwardly from the plow. The top of theshower or mass of snow being discharged will be determined by thecontour of the plates 20. Should it be desired to direct the snow morein a downward direction, the member II1 will be moved to bring one ofthe vanes or blades II1b into alignment with one of the plates H20 asshown in Fig. 4. This will tend to keep the shower of snow at a lesserheight. As described, members H2 and Ill can be moved by means of themembers I I6 and I I10 and this is preferably done by a power means. 'In

some cases the snow tends to stick or hang in elevated position insteadof dropping down in front of conveyor 48. This is particularly true inplowing through drifts. or breaker formed by the arms I44 can be used.This is rotated as described, from the outer end of conveyor 40 throughthe chains I59 and I8I. Said rake is rotated in direction of the arrowshown in Fig. 5 so that the arms below the axis thereof move toward theconveyor 48. The snow is thus broken up and given some impulse towardsaid conveyor. The rake can be operated at different heights and, wherelight snow or snow not having much depth is being plowed, the same canbe raised to be in inoperative position. 'As stated, said rake is raisedby operating a plunger in piston I5I, which swings arm I41 and thusraises the arms I33. Arms I33 form cantilever springs and thus give someyielding andflexibility to the rake. The conveyor 48 is driven throughthe bolt 44 which can act as a shear pin so that parts will not bedamaged if some unusual obstruction should be encountered by theconveyor. The rotor 11 is also driven through the shear pin 14 which pinwill shear and prevent damage to the rotor if some unusual object shouldbe encountered thereby. The motor I6 8 is very conveniently andefliciently mounted on the plow and a plow having much greater power isproduced by having a separate motor for driv-' In such cases the 'rake'H ing'ith'e conveyor and other parts than where such :parts are drivenfrom the propelling vehicle. The driving-gears. are all completelyhoused/in the gear casings 5|, 58-.ai1di9'l. The arrangement of gearcasing 56 within the rotor gives a very compact and -eiii'cientstructure. The gears are thus :nicely protected against snow, moistureor. .dirt and this result .is aided by'the :use of "the sealing-ring"88. The-conveyor l'll extends "across substantially the wholefront of the plow and is of such proportions as to have ilarge ca--pacity and easily handlethe snow encountered. The impeller 11 alsoengages the snow .as'cthe plow is moved forwardlynand also functions inthe snow removal operation. The :bladesillb engage the snow and sweep itrearwardly and discharge it through chute'SB.

From the above description it will be seen that .I have provided acompact, efiicient and very durable snow plow and one which'willhavelarge capacity. Thenparts of the plow are efficiently driven by themotor carried on the plow, which "will provide ample power for 'allcircumstances. The parts are strong and the welded construction used onthe frame and other parts assures durability for the very rough usage towhich these plows are subjected. It is apparent that the device willhave a high degree of utility for the purpose intended.

.It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of applicants invention, which generallystated, consists in a device ca- .pable of carrying out the objects.above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed anddefined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l..- A snow plow having in oombinatioma frame, a helical conveyoradjacent the front of said plow, a chamber at one sideof said plow towhich said conveyor delivers, a chute leading upwardly from saidchamber, a rotor in said chamber for discharging snow therefrom, saidrotor havingv ciricumferentially spaced blades spaced from the axisof-said rotor, a gear casing disposed withinsaid impeller between theinner ends of said blades and gearing in said gear casing :for drivingsaid rotor and conveyor from said motor.

2. A snow plow having in combination, a chamber, means for deliveringsnow to said chamber, an impeller in said chamber for discharging snowfrom said chamber, a shaft .on which said impeller is journaled, saidimpeller having blades spaced radially from said shaft and meansconnecting said blades at one side thereof, a motor for driving saidimpeller, a second shaft extending parallel to said shaft between thesame and said blades, gearing connecting said motor and second shaft, agear secured to said impeller, a gear meshing with said gear-and securedto said second shaft, a third shaft between said first mentioned shaftand blades, gearing connecting said first mentioned gear and third shaftand gearing connected to said third shaft for driving said firstmentioned means.

3. A snow plow having in combination, a rotor for discharging snowcomprising circumferentially spaced blades spaced from its axis, a plateat one side of said rotor and blades to which said blades are connected,a shaft on which said rotor is journaled, a gear secured to said rotoraxially thereof at said side of said rotor, a second gear meshing withsaid gear, said gears being disposed radially between said blades and ashaft for drivshaft-on'which said rotor is journaled and .a gear casingdisposed *hin said rotor at one :side of between the inner endsxof dshaft *said blades and having plates forming theside walls "thereof, theouter one of which is spaced wardly .a short distance from said firstmentioned plate for housing gearing for driving said rotor.

5. snow plow having in combination, a. rotor for discharging snowcomprising circumferentially spaced blades spaced from its axis andmeans at one side of said rotor connecting said blades, a shaft on whichsaid rotor is journaled, a secured to said rotor axially thereof :at

. said side of :said rotor, a second gear =mes'nl11g with said gear,said gears being disposed radially between said and. a shaft for drivingsaid second :gear extending parallel to said first mentioned shaft andextending between the inner ends o'fsaid blades, a conveyor fordeiivering snow to said rot a third shaft for driving said conveyor, ati d gear secured to said third shaft, a pinion meshing with said thirdgear, a fourth haft secured to said pinion and extending parallel tosaid first mentioned shaft between the inner ends of said blades and afourth gear secured to 'said fourth shaft and meshing with said firstmentioned gear and disposed between the inner ends of said blades.

6. A snowplow having in combination, a rotor for discharging snowcomprising circumferentially spaced blades spaced from its axis andmeans-at one side of said rotor connecting said blades, a shaft on whichsaid rotor is journaled, ;a gear secured to said rotor-axially thereofat :said side of said rotor, a second gear meshing with said gear, saidgears being disposed radially between said blades, -a shaft for drivingsaid second-gearextending parallel to said first mentioned shaft andextending between the inner ends of said blades, a conveyor fordelivering snow .:to said rotor, a third shaft for driving :saidconveyor, a third gear secured to said third shaft, a pinion meshingwith said third gear, a fourth shaft secured to said pinion andextending parallel to said first mentioned shaft between the inner endsof said blades and a fourth gear secured to said fourth shaft andmeshing with said first mentioned gear and disposed between the innerends of said blades and a gear casing enclosing said gears and shaftsand having a major portion thereof disposed between the inner ends ofsaid blades.

7. A snow plow having in combination, a chamber, means for deliveringsnow to said chamber, an impeller in said chamber for discharging snowfrom said chamber, a shaft on which said impeller is journaled, a plateat the inner side of said im peller, a second plate spaced outwardlyfrom said plate and disposed within said impeller, sleeves supported bysaid plates at each side of said shaft, bearings in said sleeves, a pairof shafts journalled respectively in said bearings, gears carried by oneof said pair of shafts for 11 driving said impeller, gears carried bythe other of said pair of shafts for driving said first mentioned meansand a gear secured to said impeller and meshing with certain of saidgears secured to said pair of shafts.

8. The structure set forth in claim 7, said impeller having radiallyspaced blade-forming plates and a casing disposed between the innersides of said blade-forming plates enclosing said gears and secured tosaid first mentioned plates.

9. A snow plow having in combination, a frame at one side of said plow,an impeller in said chamber for discharging snow therefrom, a conveyorfor delivering snow to said chamber, said conveyor having a hollowcentral shaft, a stub shaft at one end of said shaft, a gear secured tosaid stub shaft for driving the same from said impeller, meansconnecting said stub shaft and said conveyor shaft, a second stub shaftsecured to the other end of said conveyor shaft and supporting the same,a sprocket secured to said second stub shaft, a countershaft, a doublesprocket on said countershaft, a chain connecting said first mentionedsprocket and said double sprocket, a rotatable rake disposed in front ofsaid conveyor, a sprocket secured to said rake and a chain connectingsaid double sprocket and last mentioned sprocket for driving said rake.

' 10. A snow plow having in combination, a frame, a conveyor, animpeller at one end of said conveyor to which said conveyor delivers, ashaft on which said impeller is journalled, a, plate at one side of saidimpeller, a motor mounted on said frame at one side of said plate, ashaft driven by said motor, a second shaft splined to said shaft to berotated thereby and so as to be movable longitudinally thereof, a pinionsecured to said second shaft, a housing secured to one side of saidplate enclosing said pinion, a bearing in said housing for said secondshaft, a gear driven by said pinion and disposed in said housing, ashaft supported by said plate and secured to and driven by said gear,gearing connecting said gear and V ber forming a closure for saidopening, andcircumferentially spaced blades secured to the inner side ofsaid plate and extending inwardly therefrom, and a shaft mounted in saidhousing on which said impeller rotates.

12. The structure set forth in claim 11, a gear secured to said impelleradjacent said plate, a pinion meshing with said gear, a second shaftsecured to said pinion extending parallel to said first mentioned shaft,said shafts, gear and pinion being disposed within said blades at oneside of said plate, and means for driving said second shaft.

13. Asnow plow having in combination, a housing having a chamber thereinand a chute extending upwardly from said chamber, aconveyor extendingfrom one end of said chamber and adapted to deliver snow thereto, animpeller in said chamber for discharging snow through said chutecomprising a plate at the other end of said chamber forming a closureforsaid latter end, and circumferentially spaced blades secured to theinner side of said plate and extending inwardly therefrom, said bladeshaving substantially horizontally inner edges spaced from the axis ofsaid.

impeller, a gear casing disposed Within said impeller at one side ofsaid plate and having a wall disposed close to said edges, a centralshaft journaled in said casing on which said impeller rotates, andgearing in said casing for driving said impeller.

JOHN R. RITCHIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,569,531 Barry Jan. 12, 19261,879,315 Klauer et al. Sept. 2'7, 1932 2,103,510 I Brown Dec. 28, 19372,144,316 Klauer Jan. 7,1939 2,223,372 Klauer Dec. 3, 1940 2,269,326Wandscheer Jan. ,6, 1942 2,281,289 Hewitt Apr. 28,1942 2,337,108 JensenDec. 21,1943 2,353,928 Piltz Jul 18,1944

, FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date France .j June 22, 1926

